Celtic still on course in Champions League, says Thomas Rogne

For the purposes of keeping alive their hopes of progressing from Group G of
the Champions League, the avoidance of defeat in their opening match against
Benfica was essential for Celtic.

Good start: Defender Thomas Rogne says Celtic are still on course to qualify from their Champions League group

By Ewing Grahame

11:00PM BST 20 Sep 2012

The fact that they managed that on a night when (with the exception of Kris Commons) their creative players largely failed to show was a cause for quiet satisfaction, if not quite celebration.

The home side’s best performances came from holding midfielders Victor Wanyama and Scott Brown plus full-back Adam Matthews, as the Portugese recorded more than twice as many attempts on target as their hosts.

Celtic were also fortunate that Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli somehow failed to spot Fraser Forster’s foul on Rorigo, which should have resulted in a penalty kick and, possibly, a red card for the goalkeeper.

Norwegian defender Thomas Rogne, surprisingly only utilised as a second-half substitute for Mikael Lustig, certainly believes there is no need for Celtic to reproach themselves, arguing that a place in the last 16 remains within their grasp.

“If we don't win then it's important not to lose and I think that was a good performance,” he said. “We wanted to test their goalkeeper a bit more but we did well defensively.

“One point is a lot better than nothing so I think we should be happy: it was a good start for us. Benfica is a tough team and this was the first Champions League game for most of us.

“We'll probably need to take points away from home if we want to get through and, of course, that's our aim.

“I think second place is still up for grabs. Nothing has changed after this game: in fact, I would say that we believe in ourselves more than we did before the game because we've shown we can do well.”

In order to reach the knock-out stages of club football’s most lucrative competition, Celtic must improve on an away record which, qualifying rounds apart, consists of 19 defeats and one draw from 20 outings.

“In my opinion we showed that we are a good team,” said Rogne. “People talk about our away record in the Champions League but history doesn't count for anything because this is a new team.

“We did well [in the Europa League] last season and we had two good away games in the qualifying rounds as well and we want to keep that going.

“There are also injured players who are about to come back into the squad so we're in a good place. The whole Champions League experience was special.

“We were sitting on the bench talking about the music - it was a great occasion and I think the fans feel it as well. They were something else - I'd never seen the ground like this, even in Old Firm games.”

Manager Neil Lennon sprung a few surprises, installing Sweden right-back Lustig in the heart of his defence and pushing centre-back Charlie Mulgrew into midfield but his changes didn’t backfire on him.

“It was a big thing to keep a clean sheet but we defended well as a team, not just the back four,” said Rogne.

“We have players who can play in a variety of positions and we showed that against Benfica. Charlie played as a left midfielder and Mikael stepped in as a centre-half. That's a good thing for us.”

Rogne had provoked Lennon’s ire by expressing his dissatisfaction with the club’s offer of new terms while on international duty last week but insists he wants to remain in Glasgow.

“I don't want to speak about my contract but I will say that I want to stay here and I think that the club wants to keep me as well so we'll see what happens: talks are ongoing,” said the 22 year-old.

“You always want to start games - especially big games like this - but I respect the manager's decision and Mikael, like the rest of the team, was really good.

“Now I need to work hard in training and prove that I deserve to play. The SPL is probably still the most important thing for us because we need to win it again so Dundee on Saturday is also a big game for us.”

Meanwhile Celtic are facing a Scottish Football Association charge after their fans waved an offensive banner celebrating the decline of Rangers during a pre-season friendly against Norwich.

The SFA issued a notice of complaint on Thursday alleging four rule breaches over the banner, which was brandished by Celtic supporters at Parkhead in July.

Celtic are accused of failing to prevent fans from bringing the banner into the ground and then displaying it.

The Scottish champions are also accused of failing to deal effectively with an instance of unacceptable conduct, "by allowing spectators to retain possession of the banner after it had been initially displayed, which allowed them to display the banner on a second occasion during the above match".

The banner in question is understood to have featured a gunman shooting a figure next to a gravestone with the Rangers badge on it, as supporters mocked the impending liquidation of the Ibrox club.

The banner featured a silhouetted gunman emblazoned with a green shamrock taking aim at a zombie-like figure in front of the tombstone.

Celtic have been given until next Thursday to respond to the notice of complaint with a hearing date set for Oct 11.